Christmas Jeer
by bezerkoid
Summary: Dissatisfied with their past teamups, the rogues of the Justice Leagues band together for a not so merry season.
1. Christmas Jeer: Not Here for a Dance

Christmas Jeer- Chapter 1

The medium sized bar of the Iceberg Lounge barely seemed to fit the bulky figure at the front. Covered in a black trench coat and hat, all anyone could spot below the coat were the endings of a pair of battered blue jeans and some equally worn shoes.

"Two bottles of beer," he ordered. Realising the waitress wasn't listening he snapped his fingers at her. These weren't properly visible either, being covered by a pair of gloves which were in better condition than most of his clothing.

"Lady, I'm talking to you. Two bottles of beer."

The waitress was a medium-sized woman, Caucasian with hazel eyes and blonde hair. If the man was so inclined, he probably could have hurled her halfway across the club and caused her to land on the dance floor. Fortunately, he had no reason to do so as she scurried away like a mouse that just heard a cat coming down the stairs. He drummed his fingers against the table, bored and getting even thirstier imagining the alcohol run down his throat.

He felt a hand rest on his shoulder.

"Hey, buddy, this was my stool. Ya mind shifting over a few?"

The sitting man shrugged his enormous shoulders and the hand quickly withdrew.

"Scram. Ya leave, not my problem. Just go with the flow like I do and sit somewhere else."

"Buddy, I was sitting here before I had to take a leak. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

And that was when the annoying man found himself hurled into one of the eating tables.

"I SAID SCRAM!"

Then everything seemed to happen at once.

The waitress dropped the two bottles of beer first, then scurried back into the storage room and slammed the door shut. The band was next to react, stopping the music and a couple of members would have dropped their instruments if it weren't for the supports or straps. Finally, all the dancers ran out, followed by the band members and people drinking or eating at the tables. The man realised that he was now alone and snatched a beer bottle from one of the tables, gulping thirstily before he opened it and almost rammed it down his throat.

Then he heard the sound of an umbrella hitting the floor and a noise of disapproval.

"You can't just walk in here and binge all night for free, my reptilian miscreant."

The man with the umbrella was Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot. Fat, with long black hair that failed to grow over the top of his head, a monocle in his right eye and a long pointy nose, he was dressed in his usual ridiculous suit, with a stupidly big bow tie, a beige jacket, white shirt, grey trousers, and finally a blazer with a black top hat. To the outside world he was known to some as the Penguin. It was a fitting nickname.

"Forgive me changing the subject, but your attire seems to have mostly changed to worse for wear, my old acquaintance."

As if on cue, the gloves, shoes and hat were discarded onto the bar, revealing who the man truly was. Tall and well muscled, with yellow teeth and eyes, rough, greyish skin, how could it have been anyone other than Killer Croc Morgan?

"You're right, waddling bird. The trench coat's good for a disguise though."

Penguin raised his grotesque hand and clicked his fingers once, causing two bouncers in suits to march forwards in a threatening manner.

"I almost iced the bat, what makes you think they're gonna stop me?"

Penguin got the point and clicked again. Both his thugs went back to where they'd been before.

"I apologise. This is gross misconduct for an old acquaintance of mine. Please, take a seat."

Croc was slightly irritated by Penguin choosing to treat him like an old friend, but for the time being he chose to play along, sitting at a table and finishing the remains of the chicken that had been left there, not caring it was cold. The club's owner had to hold back a frown of disgust.

"Pray tell me, what objective do you have here? You cannot be here for the dancing or instrumentals, never mind the meal."

Croc licked the bone clean and took another swig from his beer before continuing.

"Actually, I came here after the bat kicked my butt in the sewers again."

Penguin was hardly surprised. If there was anything that Croc could really moan about, it was Batman. After the Croc and Batman had fought, Batman had denied him revenge at least once, prevented him from making quite a bit of money, and foiled his operation with Baby Doll. It was understandable if the reptile man was angry at the vigilante.

"Ah, yes. Our winged adversary is a thorn we'll never remove from our sides. The more you try pulling him out, the deeper he digs into your business."

"Wise words, fat guy."

The words didn't come from Croc, but instead from the man who'd just entered the room. Penguin rotated his neck to see Two-Face enter the room. His suit was mostly coloured black and white, perfectly split in half, with neat black hair on one side and frenzied white hair on the other.

"Get out," Croc and Penguin both hissed in unison. Both of them were still incredibly enraged from Harvey Dent and his recent brutality- or rather his third personality's.

"If you didn't want any unwanted guests, maybe your thugs should have locked the back door after the waitress ran out of it a few minutes ago."

The fat man promptly proceeded to glare at Croc, who shrugged.

"It's not my fault people panic when they see my strength."

Two-Face produced the coin.

"The idiot and the freak. Even with this I can't decide which one's which."

Croc growled and almost leaped off his seat at the former District Attorney, but saw the man- or men- going for the duel handguns he always carried and chose to back down. The reptile man may have been several unusual things, but bulletproof was not one of them.

The two men realised that Two-Face would not be easy to get rid of, and decided to wait and see what he would do.

"If you must insist on residing here, Harvey, may I enquire about your business?"

Two-Face flipped the coin and kept his focus on it, seeing it reflect the light from the disco ball and keeping his eye on it until it landed in the open palm of his hand. Good side up.

"You may, but I think smaller words would be better before you lose Croc."

Sitting down across from the former wrestler partly because he didn't want to risk getting his neck broken, and partly so he had a bit more space, Two-Face put the coin away.

"Since you're so keen to ask, I'm here because I just lost to…"

Croc rolled his eyes.

"Don't tell me. The bat kicked you all the way back to Arkham again."

Two-Face nodded, not entirely happy remembering such things to say the least.

"You'd think one of us would have-"

"Don't start that again!" Croc butted in.

Two-Face pulled the coin out again and flipped it in the air.

"Face-down, I shut you up with a bullet to your head. Face-up, I'll leave you for this time."

Catching it in his hand and slamming it onto the back of his other arm, he checked the result.

"You guys are pretty lucky today."

Refocusing his attention on Croc, Two-Face continued speaking.

"Why shouldn't we talk about this again?"

"Well, every time we do, _he_ always pops up and gets the cops on us!"

"I still haven't forgotten being thrown on the table."

The voice came from outside the club. A shiver ran down Penguin's spine, while the others remained relatively calm.

"There's no way I'm letting _him_ in!"

Penguin snapped his fingers again and the two bouncers went outside in a slightly reluctant manner.

The next noise the men inside heard was a small hiss and both of the thugs falling over in hysteric laughter.

Then they saw his silhouette emerge from the doorway.

"Really, Pengers, you have lousy security for such a business!"

There was unanimous scowling from the super-criminals.

"Get out of here, Joker."

"Oh, come on, Harvey! When can our little parties ever be complete without me? An animal, the aristocrat freak, then a gambler of chance! There's still one space left to fill… mine!"

Joker chuckled in amusement and shuffled a series of cards like it was second nature, before he discarded the deck which, being incredibly sharp, smashed the bottles by the bar.

"Get out of here before I put a bullet in that smile of yours," Two-Face threatened, pistols now in hand.

"Oh, don't be a party pooper! I was only going to reveal some news! You'll kill the punchline if you don't listen!"

Two-Face lowered the firearms a fraction.

"Start talking before the coin makes me change my mind."

"Basically…"

Joker hesitated, uncertain of how to phrase his next sentence. Penguin raised his hand to click for more thugs to arrive, only to remember they were rolling outside from the laughing gas. Two-Face checked the magazines were loaded before he slammed it back into the guns, his way of telling the Clown Prince of Crime to hurry up.

"Lexie has decided to call as many of us as he can to Metropolis. Says we're to meet up with the rest of the amateurs from the "Legion of Doom"."

Croc frowned, confused.

"What kind of name is that?"

Two-Face nodded. While he wasn't on the best terms with one of his former victims, he had to agree. It sounded cheesy, like something out of a 1980's cartoon.

"Why should I care? Whatever they're doing, it sounds good."

Two-Face flipped the coin yet again, watching as it landed in his hand for the umpteenth time.

"Fine."

Croc nodded, unwilling to miss the action. Joker didn't need to answer, obviously. His mind was already set on preparing a killer advent punchline for the Justice League. Penguin scratched his head.

"Then we're set?"

Yet another figure stepped out of the shadows, still clad in the clothes of the waitress she'd been pretending to be a short while ago. Star Sapphire.

"Almost, clown."

At that moment, the glass from the roof shattered and Metallo and Toyman landed on the floor. The latter carried a yoyo and was spinning it round intently.

"Here comes a yoyo to put you to bed,

Though I'll give you one warning- you'll have a sore head!"

With that, the yoyo struck Joker in the face, causing him to spin twice before hitting the wall and passing out. Two-Face was next, hit by the toy returning to its owner. While Croc tried jumping out the way and leaping for the man, he felt Metallo's cold hand grab his neck and hold him upright.

"I thought the zoo was closed, little reptile."

And with that, Metallo hurled him into the bar, smashing it into dozens of fragments and knocking him out cold.

"Bit brutal, wasn't it?" Sapphire asked.

Toyman turned around and while his facial expression was unreadable under the mask he wore, Sapphire didn't need to see his face to get what he was thinking.

_You're happy letting those three travel with us while conscious? The Clown Prince of Crime, a former DA who's just done a mental hat trick, and a reptile man? You might as well try diving into the middle of a Parademon civil war with no equipment and pray not to die._

Metallo nodded, having dragged the unconscious Croc and Two-Face over to the remains of the table.

"Sapphire, let's go."

Toyman was about to walk over, before remembering the cowering form of Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot.

"What do we do with the bird?"

Sapphire pondered the question in her mind. Penguin left her mind in something of a quandary when it came to a decision. On the one hand, he had come close to offing the Batman several times and had several underground connections Luthor might find invaluable. On the other hand, he physically left a lot to be desired. In the event of a chase he'd slow them down, and if he struggled with Batman when it came to close combat, he'd be mincemeat against the mostly metahuman expanded Justice League. Even Joker could put up a better fight than him, and this was a guy who'd normally go down in a few blows.

"Bring him with us."

Penguin flinched as Toyman's mask came into contact with his skull and left him unconscious for several hours.


	2. Christmas Jeer: An Insidious Meal

Christmas Jeer- Chapter 2

The Clown Prince of Crime opened his eyes just as Star Sapphire's travel bubble dissipated and everyone hit the ground. Metallo and Toyman landed lightly on their feet while Sapphire remained in the air.

Joker was not so lucky as he hit the floor roughly a few seconds before the big bulk of Killer Croc left him winded for several minutes.

"Honestly, Sapphire, your transport makes the scrapheap looks like Batsy's car."

Joker had barely muttered the words before Toyman pulled him to his feet and led him into the hall, the others following him. The other three woke after several prods and nudges, being gestured to join the rest of the assembled rogues.

What they saw next left them confused.

Several tables had been put together, each capable of seating around eight people at one time. Joker looked at the nearest one, seeing the name cards for several people he hadn't heard of. _Trickster, Killer Frost, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, Giganta,_ and a few that he couldn't even read. Multiple men stood around the edges of the room, most armed with a form of firearm or a different modern weapon. Joker reckoned that as this wasn't going to hold most attackers off for long, it was more of a meatshield or early warning system.

Lex Luthor sat at the head of the tables, dressed in yet another suit. Joker noticed that there were no chairs directly next to him, and the nearest one was several metres away.

"Your friend Luthor doesn't seem in the mood to socialise with us," Two-Face commented.

"The price for having lead several lives," Toyman muttered.

Croc frowned in confusion, failing to understand what the masked man was on about.

"Nevermind…"

Luthor looked up from some paperwork he had been typing on a small laptop.

"Carol, John, Winslow. I didn't expect you'd be back this early."

No comment came from any of Luthor's associates. Instead, they proceeded to walk over to a table and sit down by their respective name cards. Toyman poured himself some water and drank it through a hole in his mask, while Sapphire chose to wait and Metallo didn't bother at all, no longer needing any liquid or food.

Joker just stood there in disbelief.

"This is it? _Injustice Gang Episode III: Third Time Unlucky as Well?_"

What was the point of organising so much and calling them here for this? Enough tables and chairs to seat a medium-sized mob at least, an enormous hall and several name cards all for other rogues which hadn't turned up. Even with the new arrivals, there were only eight people here. What had Lex Luthor come to?

"Lexie, my friend, what's gone to that head of yours?"

The former CEO of LexCorp and President of the United States frowned in anger.

"Firstly, my head is fine. Secondly, Joker, we're not friends."

"Then why did you call him over?" Penguin asked. In the process of their transport, everyone had forgotten about the Aristocrat want-to-be.

"A little more information about the Bat," Lex answered.

"And our purpose?" enquired Two-Face.

"The same thing."

There was a short pause, and somebody walked through the ajar doors.

Scarecrow strolled in, wearing his more recent costume, complete with false noose and carrying a scythe. Being the most recent arrival for several minutes, he'd suddenly grabbed their attention.

Then the floodgates opened.

Copperhead leaped into the hall next, followed by the Shade who was twirling his nightstick around in a professional manner. Next to enter was Solomon Grundy, who almost knocked the door off its hinges, then a man clad in red and grey with two wrist-mounted guns, presumably Deadshot.

After that, Joker lost count of the number of supervillains that entered. He managed to spot Poison Ivy, Bane, Riddler, Clayface, the Mad Hatter, Mr Freeze and Firefly amongst the seemingly endless tide of villains, but he didn't spot anyone else, though he was sure they'd be attending. By the time the armed men left to "guard" the gathering and the doors closed behind them, Joker counted more than enough villains to give the previous gatherings a major headache. However, he was sure one of the key players in the world of crime was absent, though he couldn't remember who.

After several minutes of discussion, the sound of a bell ringing echoed through the hall, and the villains went searching for their places. Joker walked over to the table he'd first checked, only for an Australian man dressed in blue to block his way.

"This is my place. Get your own, you bloody stupid clown."

Joker was sorely tempted to grab the man's weapons and bash his skull in, but chose not to for two reasons. The first was he wanted to save his energy for the League, and the second was the man with wrist-mounted guns tapping him on the shoulder.

"Don't bother. Boomerang may not seem like much of a fighter, but those weapons of his could break your neck if he really wanted that."

Joker's fists uncurled and he walked around, finding his table was at the back. Sitting at the back was probably Lex's way of keeping him a reasonable distance away. Waiting for a couple of minutes, Joker found himself joined by a burly biker alien who said his name was Lobo, a second burly alien who went by the name of Kalibak, the very annoyed Mad Hatter who seemed to be twitching his trigger finger whenever he looked at the Clown Prince of Crime, and the surviving members of his Royal Flush Gang. He tried reading their facial expressions to see if they were pleased or not, but was interrupted by a spoon hitting a glass.

"Your attention, please?"

At once, the conversation ground to a sudden and silent halt. It was obvious to everyone that Lex was orating the way he would have done while head of his business companies. Even the not so bright Grundy and Croc could work this out.

"Now, first I would like to thank you all from leaving your respective areas to come all this way. Secondly, you may all be wondering why you're all here."

Luthor moved away from the microphone to breathe, and there was a slight murmur from the crowd, but it died down quickly.

"I am sure each and every one of you here is sick and tired with the Justice League or some of their individual members. This is why I've called you here."

"So this is just a revenge team?"

The unfortunate person calling out was, by the looks of things, a man clad in a bizarre wolf costume.

"Who are you?"

Lex Luthor frowned at the costumed man. Not only was he unrecognisable, he was also uninvited. By the looks of it, he was an amateur who'd tagged along in the crowd and only just chosen to admit he was here.

"Grundy, kick him out."

Grundy got up from his chair, knocking it over in the process, before marching over to the wolfman.

The next thing everyone else in the room knew, the undead behemoth was hurled into the wall and groaned in confusion and surprise. Two men ran through the door, army-standard rifles raised.

"You'd be wise to leave my newer attempt at genetic modification alone, Mister Luthor," Emile Dorian announced. "He may not be the politest being in the room, but he certainly has enough muscle to hold his own. The grace of a cat and the strength of your big friend, if not Superman."

Two-Face hit his head in disbelief.

"I thought that nutcase was locked up in Arkham with his pet staying on the island," he cried out.

"It's a long story," Dorian answered, before taking a seat nearer to Lex. The giant wolf followed him, and Lex decided to gesture the guards away. They went back to guard positions and shut the door again.

After Grundy was helped up by Bizarro, Lex continued his speech.

"This recent event of ours aside, you've all been called here for a reason. Now, here are your plans…"

* * *

**Gotham City**

Bruce Wayne sat in the back of Alfred Pennyworth's Rolls Royce, with Alfred driving in front. Right now, the billionaire held a phone in his hands as he dialled for Tim Drake's mobile number. The boy was probably at the ice rink, like he'd been planning to before he'd been grounded for failing an assessment.

"_Hello? Bruce?"_

"Young man, I thought I made it clear you were grounded after failing."

"_Sorry, but this concert is for one night only. And I thought I told you that the justice system is bogus."_

"By watching me, all that stuff. Look, using that argument isn't going to work forever. You need to start upping your game."

"_Kind of hard when you have to stop crime almost every single night. It's not like you can improve any more."_

Bruce paused for a moment. As much as he refused to admit it, Tim had a point. All of his times for the obstacle course had increased, and beating his peak would have required some of Clark's Kryptonian DNA.

"Look, that aside, I'm driving down to the ice rink now, and if I find you there, the grounding's extended to three nights."

"_You can try."_

Bruce was about to reply before a horrific noise screeched over the phone, and Bruce almost had a heart attack as he remembered its effects.

"No…"

* * *

Tim Drake's blood ran cold as Victor Fries clasped his neck tightly. The man had just frozen the front door of the ice rink solid and made his way out the fire exit before returning to his lair. The former GothCorp scientist was surrounded by his parka-clad henchmen who were forming a tight ring, and Fries had moved away from the areas with the glass, knowing Batman had a habit for breaking through that way.

"It feels alien to you, doesn't it?"

The young boy squirmed in the robotic arms of Mr Freeze, trying to break free from the grip of a man who could potentially rival a metahuman.

"The feeling of the cold, when you sleep in the warm comfort of a billionaire's mansion. Your surrogate father and brother keep you in loving company, with your friends and world of luxury sustaining your desires."

Then Mr Freeze's normally expressionless face frowned in pain and anger.

"I was never so lucky. One punch from a money-driven corporate monster and I felt the way you do for several years. A harsh, never-ending chill which I'm forced to tolerate if I want to live. As for her, all I see of her now are photographs and memories. They aren't pleasant."

Tim managed to grab enough breath to speak.

"You… going to… kill me?"

Freeze shook his head.

"No."

Then the boy saw what the former scientist had in mind.

"But when I'm finished, you'll wish I had."

* * *

**Wayne Manor, the next morning**

Bruce Wayne awoke the next morning after an unsuccessful and hectic night of patrolling half of Gotham. Even with the aid of Barbara and Dick, who had rushed from Bludhaven, there had still been no sign of Tim, much to Alfred and the billionaire's concern, as well as several schoolfriends. Since Batman had returned from patrol, Bruce Wayne hadn't slept a wink.

Alfred walked in to the front room and found Bruce Wayne asleep on the sofa, and he'd evidently done so trying to find somebody to phone.

"Master Bruce, I've just called in to Wayne Enterprises and said you have recently acquired a case of influenza. You're in no state to work with the present issue."

A pause.

"Would you like some breakfast?"

Bruce Wayne awoke with a start and scratched his head.

"Thanks, Alfred, but I'm not going to be staying around today. I need to go to the Watchtower today as part of official business. I'll be getting breakfast there."

With that, Bruce Wayne marched downstairs to the Batcave. A few minutes afterwards, it was Batman who left the grounds in the Batwing. Alfred stared out the window and sighed, looking at the large breakfast he had prepared.

"I guess that the homeless will be happy with an extra meal."

However, Alfred was blissfully unaware of how much was really at stake.

And if he had known, he'd probably have lost his appetite and thrown up.

* * *

Lex Luthor checked his giant map projected on a screen, and so far it looked good. Victor had just begun the first stage of the plan. He decided it was best to execute step two.

"Copperhead? Pamela?"

The snakeman and botanist rushed over to Luthor's position and nodded.

"What d'you want?"

Luthor didn't say anything, instead handing over a sheet of paper. They nodded as they memorised the instructions, then put it through a shredder.

It was time for the second bite.


	3. Christmas Jeer: Unpleasant Gifts

Christmas Jeer- Chapter 3

Clark Kent watched over the plaza of Metropolis and waited, wondering when Lois was going to show up. The parade had begun half an hour ago, and normally Metropolis' best journalist would be here now. Normally it was her on time instead of him, after all.

Clark's eyes took in the parade. Several men dressed in elf costumes skipped past, singing the carols slightly out of tune as they went, followed by two snowmen and an animatronics reindeer. It was arguably the most spectacular event Metropolis had in the winter, though anyone saying it was the most expensive would probably be right.

He felt his cell phone vibrating intently and picked it up, realising it to be Lois.

"Lois?"

"Clark, I'm really sorry, but the snow on the bridge has held me up and ice seems to have formed. I can't drive further and I'm waiting till the traffic eases a little."

"Miss Lane, you've gone from the kind of woman who wouldn't be afraid to risk her neck near one of the world's most dangerous terrorists for hire to the person held up by a bit of winter weather. For you, that's borderline laziness."

Lois chuckled slightly over the phone.

"Look, the fact of the matter is I can't do anything to get here any quicker. I'll see you when I get there."

The sudden noise of an explosion rang through the speakers, and the woman's scream grated through it shortly afterwards, followed by a low beep as the phone disconnected.

Clark Kent immediately lost interest in the parade, dropping his camera and running through an alleyway.

While Clark Kent may have entered the alleyway, it was the man of steel who left it.

* * *

Lois Lane watched as the man in the trenchcoat walked towards her car. She considered opening the door and running for it, but remembered that with her luck it wasn't worth a try. Next to the man were a confused Bizarro and the bulking alien Superman knew as Lobo.

"Evening, Miss Lane. We were wondering if the Daily Planet had time for an interview with the alien that saved Superman and got Kalibak begging for mercy."

Lois was not impressed at all. The guy was a bragger, and he seemed to be messed up in the head if he thought boasting about strength got a newspaper like hers writing about them. Bizarro stood quietly, while the man in the trenchcoat barely moved. Despite a complete lack of activity, the third one freaked her out completely.

"Get out of my way, you creep."

Lois decided to forget about her previous decision, and she slammed the door in his face before she ran the opposite direction, only for the thing to get on a bizarre bike and stop in front of her.

"What'd you say, lady? I'm better than Superman in more ways than one, eh?"

"Nobody's better than me, Lobo."

And with that, Lobo was pulled off the bike and hurled backwards across the bridge into a car. Bizarro and the coated man retreated to join him.

"We need a way to take him on," Lobo muttered.

"Bizarro save dumb man," Bizarro muttered, and with that he promptly hit the biking alien in between the legs, causing him to hit the ground in pain. He then picked up speed and delivered a powerful punch to the last son of Krypton's face.

Dissatisfied with this, the distorted clone continued by picking the man of steel up and hurling him off the bridge. Superman hit the ground and grunted as Lobo picked up a car and hurled it on top of him.

"Bizarro!"

Lois desperately called as he picked up a car and almost copied Lobo.

"Lois. Me remember you."

"You see the alien there? He's trying to do good. _You should help him,_" Lois stressed, pointing at Lobo, who gave her a confused look.

"Bizarro help biker man," the deformed clone muttered, before using a powerful headbutt that made Lobo stumble over the edge and hit the sea below. He turned around just in time to feel the Flash charge into him at full force with both his fists, knocking the wind out of him, followed by a knockout punch to the face from Orion.

The man in the trenchcoat saw both his comrades down, meaning he was outnumbered three to one, and had no superpowers of his own to combat theirs. He promptly produced a machine pistol and fired for all he was worth. The Flash managed to dodge every single bullet, while Superman casually waded through the waves of fire, and Orion's armour managed to hold easily. The man soon found himself propped up against the edge of the bridge, the three members of the League surrounding him. He stood surprisingly calm, barely blinking as the Scarlet Speedster picked him up and discarded the gun.

"Alright, mister. I'm going to give you three seconds to spill the beans or I'm going to drop you off the bridge."

Nothing. Flash was bluffing, of course, but if Superman needed to he could have flown up and made the threat more realistic.

"One…two…"

The man suddenly raised his hand and a large stream of crimson gas seemed to suddenly explode out of his arm and travel down the bridge, entering the bloodstreams of Lois and the League members. Normally, Superman would have been able to absorb the gas, but just at that moment he cried out and his kness gave way as a weak Kryptonite blast slammed into his stomach. Now powerless, he found it entering him too.

Flash tried raising a fist to begin a powerful assault on the man, but before he could do so, he found his fist shaking, and the man in the trenchcoat knew that it was starting to take effect for Flash. The journalist would be next to follow. How long it would take for the biological son of Darkseid or the Kryptonian would remain to be seen, although God help anyone who was nearby.

The Scarlet Speedster suddenly saw the horrifyingly smug eyes of Lex Luthor looking down on him from the sky, and the white collar criminal was clutching a shotgun. Laughing faded in before increasing in volume and echoing in his eardrums. Wally realised it was Braniac, and he screamed, lashing out before the two soldiers who had just appeared next to him could grab his arms.

He then winced as he realised he had probably hit something hard, maybe Superman's jaw. Panicking as he heard several shells being loaded into the firearm, the Scarlet Speedster dashed off the bridge and slipped over some ice in his frenzied state before running into the city centre.

"Too bad the fastest man alive is a complete wimp," the man hissed.

Superman's eyes widened as he realised who this was.

"Scarecrow."

The gas would soon be kicking in, so Superman and Orion needed to get the information quickly.

"What have you got planned? And why are you here with those two?"

The skull mask grinned back at the defender of Metropolis, and the eyes were beginning to glow an icy blue. It freaked him out.

"This is just the beginning, Superman."

And with that, the former Professor let out a horrific shriek, and Superman dropped him to the floor in surprise, before he and Orion finally lost themselves to the terror only they knew deep inside.

* * *

Back in the centre of the festival, the giant tree was pulled along by a weathered truck which was replacing the previous vehicle, an old tow-truck that had just burst its engine after running for several years. Several children in elf outfits began skipping along, before they stopped to listen to a hissing sound.

Several minutes later, the crowd screamed as Copperhead emerged from the front of the truck, followed by Poison Ivy who emerged from the tree.

"The crowd look paranoid enough to me."

"Should we scare them?"

"It looks like we already have," Ivy darkly commented.

With that, she clicked her fingers and the plants hidden underneath the truck began to extend their roots towards the crowd.

* * *

Further down the city, Scarecrow watched as a panicked and recovered Superman hurled a car aside in his delusions, while Orion took random swings at anything nearby. Flash nearly hit moving vehicles in his paranoia, much to the surprise of police, motorists and nearby civilians alike.

Turning his attention away from the chaos, Scarecrow jumped down to join his colleagues. Soon afterwards, Metallo trudged through the alleyway to rejoin his colleagues.

"You took your time in getting those insects dosed," Metallo muttered.

"And you took forever in getting Superman weak enough for me to get him lucid," Scarecrow coldly retorted. "Not that it should matter. This is the most extreme result I have seen since leaving Gotham City."

Copperhead frowned, wondering where Lobo had got to.

"He'll be having nightmares for a while, but I reckon the biker will end up washed onto a beach sooner or later. We don't need him anyway."

Poison Ivy tugged at Copperhead's arm.

"Come on. We might be strong but if we get in their way we don't stand a chance. Let's get moving before it's too late."

The snake man nodded, and they all ran towards the crowds, which by now were completely trapped by the mass of plants surrounding them.

* * *

Perry White swore loudly when he read the front page article that the acting journalist had written.

_Supervillain team demands the sum of one billion US dollars to deal with rampaging Justice League members._

_Earlier this week, the world was shocked to see Superman, Orion and the Flash on a city-wide rampage in Metropolis. The Man of Steel appears to have lost all his sense and his rampage through the city has so far proved unstoppable. Attempts from Metropolis Police to subdue him and his accomplices have failed, and the Justice League has so far shown no signs of taking action. The villains in question, Copperhead, Poison Ivy and a few other contacts, presently claim to be protecting bystanders from the rampages of the once wholesome. In the confusion, prolific journalist Lois Lane has gone missing, and there are concerns that her colleague Clark Kent might also have been affected by the chaos. No comment has been made regarding the New Year celebrations. _

"If a snake and plant lady can stop Superman, then my next door neighbour's the Martian Manhunter disguised as a poodle."

Switching the television on, Perry saw the news channel focusing on the White House and President of the United States Gregory Marshall, a tall mixed race man who had once been Democrat governor for Florida before winning last November's election by a landslide. Perry was sure this was being broadcast worldwide, as most major events involving the Justice League were, though regrettably the world focused more on the bad things. A series of guards surrounded the man, probably ex-military.

"Ladies and gentleman of every corner of the globe, I have taken the discussion to Congress since I received the offer from the team of…" the president was struggling for the word, "metahumans, a few days ago. After a prolonged debate on the issue, I regret to inform you that Congress voted on the subject and got a majority to agree to the demands."

There was a mixture of emotions, and Perry couldn't quite make out which one was more dominant, the booing or cheering. He realised that the President was struggling to make himself heard, and realised that either the booing was getting louder or something else was coming.

He got his answer as the sound of a helicopter landing drowned out almost everything else. The aircraft door opened to reveal Copperhead and Poison Ivy, who didn't wait for the vehicle to land completely. They strode calmly and confidently, and at that moment the guards proceeded to raise their weapons. The President himself seemed to be fidgeting, though all things considered he seemed otherwise calm.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I hereby give a Presidential pardon to the following metahumans…"

The President went on to pardon Copperhead, Poison Ivy and a few others. There Perry lost interest… until he heard the one name that made his jaw drop.

"How in HELL'S name do you pardon that sadistic clown?"

Something was definitely wrong, and most of those who had been applauding now turned on the President in anger.

"Furthermore, the pardoned individuals have the backing of the United States National Guard and nearby law enforcement until the now recognised threats to society are brought to justice."

Even more disdain from the crowd.

"And finally, all Justice League members and associated vigilantes are considered hostiles nationwide and should be handled with lethal force."

That was the final straw. A journalist angrily rose from his seat and paused for a second, producing what looked like a shoe. Hurling it at the President, the journalist roared a series of words too foul for that kind of television timeslot and advanced further.

All the rifles barked loudly, and the man was soon riddled with bullet holes. The crowd's anger soon turned to fear, and a few screams went up from the crowd. A few people tried breaking away, only to find several security members blocking the exit, all armed and wearing body armour. Marshall did not flinch or so much as show a single sign of emotion on his face. The broadcast was forced to a close as a revolver was drawn and fired straight at the camera.

Perry cursed the second time that day as he saw the events unfold on the television. However, he failed to realise how bad the situation really was.

* * *

As the crowd was herded into several trucks while covered by numerous armed guards, Marshall and the security around him stayed where they were. Slowly, Lex Luthor and the Mad Hatter emerged from their hiding place while hired muscle dragged out the bodies of the shoe thrower and the cameraman.

"Excellent work, Jervis, though I feel it may have been wiser to end the broadcast earlier."

"You wanted something that would work properly, sir. I felt this was the best way to grab the Justice League's attention."

Jervis walked over to the President of the United States and removed the microchip from under his collar. The President broke from his trance, before the guard next to him broke his nose and knocked him out cold.

Luthor nodded.

"It worked well, but maybe too well. I am concerned of a possible reaction from others, never mind the League."


	4. Upcoming: First Blood of Spring

**Author's announcement**

Ok everybody- I'm sorry if this announcement has disappointed you and you were expecting a new chapter today.

Christmas Jeer will not be continuing in THIS story- however I plan to make a new story leaving straight off from where this was. Let's face it, Christmas Jeer isn't the best title when it's spring.

In it's place will be a story called "First Blood of Spring", and I will announce when this is up by posting an announcement in place of this one- you can also check my profile every few weeks or go through the Justice League archive. Just don't expect updates to be too regular as exams are fast approaching.

And *gasp* this story will be around PG-13 content, not that the animated show was all roses and happiness anyway. There'll be heavy action-

**Joker**: I'm waiting for another appearance.

How did you get into this announcement?

**Joker:** Not too hard when Paul Dini and Bruce Timm give you fourth wall awareness. And I'll have you know the title of the first fic was stolen from one of MY FIRST lines.

You do realise your fellow characters are probably confused by you talking to me? After all, I'm not in the story.

**Joker. **&^ them.** You just included me for added publicity! Even TOYMAN got a bigger role than me! What the hell is this, a Wolverine story? You're a hack and you know it!

***Joker has his mouth clamped shut by a muzzle. Muffled protests still arise.***

As I was saying, keep your eyes out for First Blood of Spring. Thanks again.


End file.
